HBO Bites Into ‘True Blood’ Live Preshow Telecast, Social Chatfests

Premium cabler to air on-set preshow and stage social media events with 13 cast members

In an all-day digital fiesta of the undead, HBO has enlisted 13 “True Blood” cast members to share gory details from the season 6 run with a series of social media events and a live broadcast from the show’s set ahead of the June 16 premiere.

Cabler’s “#secretsfromtheset” promo for vampire skein kicks off Sunday, June 16, at 9 a.m. Eastern, when it will release details of the upcoming series via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine.

At 8:45 p.m. ET/PT, just before the 9 o’clock premiere, HBO will air an interactive preshow, “#TrueBlood: Live from Set,” hosted by comedienne Retta of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.” Fifteen-minute lead-in will let viewers submit questions live to the show’s cast; in addition, “True Blood” fans with top social scores will be featured in show’s broadcast, executed in partnership with Twitter and Mass Relevance.

“Social media has been core to the marketing strategy for ‘True Blood’ since the first season, leading to one of the most engaged fan bases of any television series,” HBO head of marketing Pamela Levine said in a statement. “#TrueBlood: Live From the Set will reward our devotees by allowing them to both participate in and affect the live broadcast through a unique intersection of linear television and digital media.”